Spectrum
by bewilderedlittlemuggle
Summary: 'I loved him and I never told him - there are some things you shouldn't hesitate about and I did': Maggie Callaghan retraces her memories of Hogwarts, the Burrow and the Ministry through 9 years of friendship, shenanigans, and love. OC, hide your children
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: **"There are some things you can't hesitate about, and this is one of them." These are the last words Maggie Callaghan ever hears Fred Weasley speak, after nine years of friendship, shenanigans, and love. As she retraces her memories of Hogwarts, the Burrow, and the Ministry, she realizes: "I loved him and I never told him - there are some things you can't hesitate about and I did."

**A/N:** Hello hello! Welcome to Spectrum! Just posting this for a laugh - yes, it's an OC, oh yikes! Warning signs right there! I wrote this while not taking myself seriously...and you should too! Always wanted to write a story about the Weasley twins' generation/a house other than Gryffindor! Here's my stab at it :) Like it? Hate it? Let me know! I'm pretty friendly, haha

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><p><strong><em>July 10th, 1989<em>**

_"Mum!" scrambling feet on the hardwood floors, the girl came crashing through the kitchen, nearly upsetting her younger brothers (Simon, 6 and Patrick, 8) from their perch at the kitchen table as she slid on the linoleum and came to a stop in front of her mother, who was folding the Daily Prophet neatly on the crease as she watched over the dishes (being done with an enchanted dish brush). Stout, with a thinning mess of blonde hair, the woman looked up from an article about the Ministry's stance on Diricawl poaching._

_"No running, Margaret, what did I say?" she told her eldest child irritably, until her gaze fell upon the piece of parchment clutched in the girl's left hand._

_"Mummy, there was an owl outside!" Maggie chirruped breathlessly, impatiently wiping away the dark wisps of hair that always stuck annoyingly to her eyelashes. "He had a letter, it's for me! It's from Hogwarts!"_

_Her mother sucked in a breath, and then said briskly, "Well, let's see it then.":_

_"_Dear Miss Callaghan,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry..._"_

_When her mother finally looked up, Maggie was practically bouncing on the balls of her feet._

_"Well, well, well?" she demanded._

_"Lucas!" her mother called upstairs to her husband, a smile breaking out over her face. "She's got her letter!"_

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><p><strong><em>August 12th, 1989<em>**

_"I remember your mother," Garrick Ollivander said thoughtfully from a shelf high above Maggie's head. Maggie craned her head up to peer into the gloom, at the rows upon rows of wands in boxes, unopened, waiting for their owner. It was a staggering thought, she realized, as Ollivander hummed an off tune, shuffling around on the shelves._

_"Lovely girl - wand was willow, I recall, 12 and three-quarter inches, with unicorn hair, I believe? And your father...he was tricky, took a long time to match him a wand...but eventually we settled on Hawthorn, 9 inches, with griffin feather. Very nice wand, nice for Transfiguration...now!"_

_Ollivander climbed back into the light with a stack of wand boxes. "My dear, my dear, what should we try out first...perhaps this one, 8 and a quarter inches, dragon heartstring...yes, yes, just like that, give it a flick."_

_Nothing happened - Maggie felt embarrassed and wondered if she should remind Ollivander that she really didn't know any spells, but Ollivander merely packed the wand up again and picked up the next box._

_"How about this, then...a little longer, 10 and a half inches, yew with dragon heartstring..."_

_That one was no good - neither was the third, or fourth, or fifth one that Maggie tried._

_"I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed, but Ollivander held up his hand, purposefully searching through the boxes he had brought down with him._

_"I was a little off..." he murmured, "Just like your father, eh, my girl? Then let's try this one."_

_So Maggie took the wand offered to her, and her hand felt warm. Experimentally, she waved it, and the boxes piled haphazardly on the table arranged themselves into a neat stack._

_"Wow!" she exclaimed. Ollivander looked pleased._

_"Just takes a little time, is all!" he assured her, moving forward to re-box the wand. "That's poplar, that is, 10 inches, with griffin feather...a core like your father's._

_"Griffin's a tricky core to use, you know," he continued as they moved to the front of the shop, where Maggie's mother was waiting. "Makes for a very purposeful wand, but I daresay you can handle it..."_

_"Didn't I tell you Mr. Ollivander was nice?" her mother asked her as they left the wand shop, Maggie's new wand securely tucked under her arm._

_"Yeah..."_

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><p><strong>September 1st, 1989<strong>

"Now, be smart." said Diana Callaghan, straightening her eldest daughter's jumper.

"Stay away from Filch, if you can." added Lucas Callaghan, ruffling up her hair. "He's a nasty one."

"Daad!" Eleven-year-old Margaret Callaghan, called "Maggie" by just about everyone except her parents on bad days, immediately reached up to flatten the hair that has been mussed. "I gotta go!"

Maggie was rather tall for her age, most of that height being made up of gangly colt legs, which left trousers always a little too short and in need of a hem, and robes always a little ill-fitting. Her hair, a light brown, was straw straight and cut straight to her shoulders, a line of bangs falling over big eyes, long nose, thin lips and round cheeks. She moved away from her family, face scrunched up in impatience as she batted away Patrick (her younger brother) and Simon (the youngest brother) - they grabbed at her jumper, begging her to write to them about Hogwarts as soon as she got there.

Lucas leaned down to kiss her gently on the forehead.

"Remember to feed Spots." Diana said briskly, handing her daughter both her trunk and the little cage that housed Spots the toad, a pre-Hogwarts gift from her uncle Francis.

"And for heaven's sake, Margaret, take your fingers out of your mouth!" she swatted at her daughter's hand, which had somehow, through all her luggage, found its way to her lips so she could bite her nails - a nervous habit from childhood Maggie had yet to break.

"Muuum." Maggie inched down Platform 9 3/4. "I'm going! I'll see you at Christmas!"

"I love you, sweet girl." Diana told her daughter, getting dangerously teary-eyed. "Eat well. Write us once in a while, promise?"

"I promise!" Maggie was half onto the train by this point, juggling trunk and toad. "Bye Daddy!" she called. Lucas lifted his hand.

"Bye Mags."

"Bye Maggie!" her brothers chorused.

Maggie waved at her family one last time before making her way down the corridor, searching for a compartment. Suddenly seeing so many faces - students her age, looking nervous/sick/a combination of the two, and older students greeting friends, laughing, having quick conversations - made the knot in her stomach grow larger. As she edged past groups of students, some turned to look at her, briefly, and she kept her head turned away, searching for an empty compartment.

All the compartments had at least one other person in them and Maggie, summoning up the courage, knocked softly on the window of one before sliding open the door and asking, "Sorry...do you mind if I sit here?"

The two girls in the compartment looked up from their conversation.

"Sure." said one. With a muttered thanks, Maggie hefted her things overhead and sat down.

The girls looked around her age - the one who had spoken before was a plump, round-faced thing, with caramel-blonde hair, a smattering of freckles, and a wide, genuine smile. The other was taller, gangly, with a thick shock of dark, wavy hair and perpetually tired-looking eyes.

"Are you a first year, too?" the dark-haired girl spoke, startling Maggie.

"Yes - er, I'm Maggie Callaghan."

"Kendra Baines." replied dark-haired girl.

"Beth Fairfax." said freckles. Maggie relaxed a little.

"Hi. Where're you from?"

"We're from Liverpool." Kendra seemed to be speaking for the both of them - Beth only nodded and smiled.

"Oh, so you know each other already?" at their nods, Maggie smiled. "That's neat! Wish I had come with a friend - I think I'd be less nervous."

"Don't be nervous!" Beth chirped. "Now you know us!"

"Yeah." Maggie chanced a smile, and the compartment settled into a comfortable silence.

As the train made its way into Scotland, Maggie felt her nervousness slowly dissipate from her body. Kendra and Beth were friendly and enthusiastic - Beth loved Quidditch, and seemed shocked that Maggie wasn't much of a fan ("My dad used to take me to watch the Montrose Magpies play! - 've been a Magpie fan since I could walk!"); Kendra, on the other hand, shared Maggie's love for collecting Chocolate Frog cards ("What," Beth exclaimed in horror, "You want to collect dead people's portraits instead of watching _Quidditch_? Bonkers, you two!")

"When we get to school, I wanna try out for the Quidditch team," Beth was telling them as the trolley rolled by - they paused their conversation to buy an assortment of Chocolate Frogs and Cauldron Cakes. "When my da was at Hogwarts, he was the Keeper for his team!"

"Which house?" Maggie wanted to know, watching some clouds cast a shadow over the fields outside the window of the compartment.

"Gryffindor. My mum was a Ravenclaw. I hope I'm in Gryffindor though, honestly. I think it's the best house. Well, according to my dad, anyways."

"Both my parents were in Gryffindor!" Maggie interjected happily. "So that means I'll be in Gryffindor for sure!"

"Not really." Kendra spoke up, from where she'd been fiddling with her book. "My mum's parents were both in Slytherin and _she_ was a Ravenclaw."

"What?" Maggie sat straight up, a new sort of panic clawing in her stomach. "But I want to be in Gryffindor! What if I'm not? What if I'm..." she gulped nervously. "...a Slytherin?"

Kendra furrowed her brow. "Who says there's something wrong with being a Slytherin?" she asked sharply, and Maggie looked sheepish.

"Sorry." she apologized. "Nothin' against Slytherins, just..." she sighed. "My parents both sort of.._want_ me to be in Gryffindor. You know? They were really excited when I got my letter, and I'm scared they might be mad if I don't get in."

"How do you get in to a house, anyways?" Beth piped up. "My dad used to tell me that you had to complete a task, but I think he was joking."

"My sister told me you have to do something in front of the _whole_ school, and if you mess up, you get sent home." Kendra said with a somber face.

"Oh, jeez." Maggie winced. Her parents had been vague on the whole subject, with her mother saying, "_Don't worry, Maggie. You'll find out when you get there_."

"I'm sure it'll be fine!" Beth told her. "No one's gotten kicked out of Hogwarts _ever_...I think...'less you kill someone or something like that..."

Maggie excused herself to use the loo.

On the way back to the compartment she bumped into a boy her own age, looking stocky in a green hand-knit jumper, and with a shock of startling red hair.

"Sorry!" she apologized, to which the boy grinned and replied, "All me, sorry."

In his hands she could see a rucksack, and as she stared at it, it wriggled.

"Whoa!" she yelped. "What _is_ that?"

The boy looked anxious. "Well, gotta go!" he said, and hurriedly entered the nearest compartment. Peering in, Maggie saw him exchange words with - what must be his twin because they were identical - before the first boy turned round and saw her watching. Flushing, she averted her eyes and continued on to her own compartment.

"Yer back! Wanna play Exploding Snap?" Beth asked. "Kendra's no good at it."

With one last glance out into the corridor, Maggie shrugged and sat down, and ended up singing her fingers in the first five minutes (Beth was _much_ better at this than her) - nevertheless, it helped push the House situation out of her mind.

* * *

><p><em>"Your dad and I were both in Gryffindor," her mother would tell her and her brothers, proudly, usually when they wouldn't go to sleep and her father had exhausted all the Beedle the Bard stories for the night. "It's how we met, actually. He nearly blew up the dungeons with one of his potions in fifth year, so I helped him fix it."<em>

_Maggie knew, when her mother's eyes grew faraway, that she was remembering. "You'll love it when you're there," she would tell them. "You've never felt so safe and so wonderful than you do at Hogwarts. I met all my best friends in Gryffindor - you get to know each other very well, you know. You do everything together." With a soft look at her husband she would add, "And we still do everything together, twenty-five years later."_

Neither of her parents had ever said it, explicitly, but Maggie knew they sort of expected her and her brothers to get into Gryffindor. In the few years leading up to her eleventh birthday, Maggie had never entertained any other possibility other than her walking into that school and becoming a Gryffindor. But now...hearing Kendra's story...she wasn't so sure.

* * *

><p>After their fifth game of Exploding Snap, and after Kendra had inhaled the last of her Cauldron Cakes ("She's a vacuum, this one." Beth said teasingly, and was rewarded with a glare from her friend. "Eats everything in sight."), they had hurried to change into their robes. Shrugging into the dark fabric (she had <em>told<em> Mum it was a little too short - if she let her arms hang by her side, the sleeves didn't even hit her wrists!), Maggie tried to ignore the lump in her throat that had reappeared, and as the train ground to a halt she fisted her sleeves and attempted to pull them down over her hands, resisting the urge to bite her nails.

She was startled when Beth handed her Spots' cage.

"Sorry, he almost fell over." she apologized, wriggling a finger through the bars at the very bored looking toad.

"Thanks!" Maggie said breathlessly, taking the cage in both arms. "Say, where're your animals?" she asked the two.

Beth gestured to the owl cage in the corner of the compartment - the bird inside was a sort of muddy brown, and had its head tucked under its wing at the moment. "That's Beatrice. She was my mum's!"

When Maggie looked questioningly at Kendra, the dark-haired girl wrinkled her nose. "I don't like animals." she said with a note of finality.

Maggie stared.

"...Not at _all_?"

Outside it was dark, and students were pouring out of every car. Over the noise and commotion Maggie heard a call for, "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!"

"Let's go!" Beth declared, and she and Kendra began elbowing their way through the throng of students. Maggie tried to follow, but dropped the cage with a clatter, earning her a disapproving croak.

"Sorry!" she whined, stooping - the fall had knocked the little wire door open and it wouldn't latch back onto the cage. A quick grope around the inside of the cage told her that Spots had disappeared

"Oh no." she muttered, squinting at the busy platform in the dark, imagining all the first years leaving without her, and having to show up at Hogwarts alone, stared at, on her first day!

"Oi, need a hand?" asked a voice to her left. Turning, she spotted the boy from earlier on the train - he was wearing his robes but the sleeves were rolled up, leaving his green jumper exposed.

"I dropped my toad." she explained miserably. "And now I'm going to be left behind an' - an' probably not sorted..."

"This him?" another voice behind her had her spinning around to see the boy's twin, Spots clutched carefully in between his palms.

"Spots!" she exclaimed. "Oh, thank you - er - "

"George," said the twin holding her toad. "George Weasley." An annoyed sound from his brother made her turn.

"He's not George, _I'm_ George." said the boy with the green jumper. "That's Fred."

Fred grinned at her.

Maggie stared at him. "...Wh-are you sure?" she asked.

"Most of the time." Fred - Fred? Maybe? - replied, handing her Spots. "What's your name?"

"Pretty sure it's Maggie." she shot back. "Maggie Callaghan. Thanks for finding my toad, again."

"No problem. You a first year, then?"

"Yeah..." Maggie put Spots back in his cage, forcing the door closed.. "You?"

"Yup." the twins chorused. "C'mon, Hagrid's about to leave." George added, starting off.

Maggie was about to ask who Hagrid was - but she didn't need to, once she saw the enormous, hairy man looming over even the tallest of students. The man - Hagrid - looked relieved when he saw them hurrying up.

"Always the Weasleys!" he groaned good-naturedly, with one look at the twins and their red hair. "Hurry up, hurry up, I've gotta take yer to the castle."

"Does he know you?" Maggie asked as they pressed closer to the group of nervous, chattering first years - she thought she glanced Kendra's raven hair up in front but there was no way to get to her. Hagrid's lantern swung in the darkness, forging a path.

"Nah, but probably knows our brothers." Fred said.

"We've got three brothers who've gone to Hogwarts." George added proudly. "Bill just graduated last year."

"Wow! And you're the youngest ones, then?" Maggie guessed. Though she had two brothers, she couldn't imagine _four_ siblings - especially if one of them was her twin!

"Got a little brother - he'll be along in two years - and a little sister." Fred filled her in.

"What!" Maggie's eyes widened, adding jokingly, "Your poor sister...with so many brothers!"

"Oh, trust me...she can handle herself." Fred assured her with a little shudder.

"What 'bout you?" George asked as they, per Hagrid's instructions, clambered into the boats that would take them to the castle.

"Two little brothers." Maggie answered, "So I'm the first to go! Sort of nerve-wracking, I think! What houses are your brothers in?"

"Our whole family's been in Gryffindor, so far." Fred replied. "So we think we've got a pretty good chance of getting in."

Maggie was silent, pondering. "What if you two get into different houses?" she wanted to know. Fred and George exchanged puzzled looks.

"Why would we?" asked Fred.

"They'd be loony to split us up!" added George.

"We're a pair!" they chorused. Maggie couldn't help a giggle from escaping her.

"You two are funny." she told them, gaze drifting out across the still, silent lake. In front of them, Hogwarts School loomed up out of the darkness, windows illuminated, ready to welcome its students. When Maggie turned back she saw the same awe that she felt reflected across the twins' faces - upturned towards the impressive turrets, freckles pale in the moonlight. Maggie smiled. Hogwarts could inspire even the brashest of boys to find silence, she guessed.

She and the Weasley twins didn't end up doing much talking after that - from the boat ride across the lake, to meeting the stern looking Professor McGonagall, to being led, hushed, into the Great Hall, with its fathomless ceiling and long tables, everything left her speechless. As the first years were led up near the front, Maggie became aware of everyone watching them, even the teachers sitting up at the head table, and the kindly old grandfather figure at the very centre.

"That's Dumbledore." George whispered to her. "Our dad says, he's the most powerful wizard in the world!"

"Yeah, I've heard about him..." Maggie said absently, remembering her father's words: _You mind Professor Dumbledore, now, Mags! Forget what people say about his age - he's one of the greatest wizards we've got, and for you to be taught in his school is a great honour! Never forget that!_

This was it. By the time this evening was over Maggie was going to be sorted - chancing a glance at the Weasley twins by her side, she decided to buck up and ask them what they knew...after all, they had three brothers at Hogwarts, right? If THEY didn't know, who did?

"So, d'either of you know how we get put in a House?" she asked them. The twins looked at each other and shrugged.

"Bill won't tell us." Fred (on the left, on the left, she chanted to herself, the one with the bit of a cowlick) told her.

"Percy said it's something we 'have to find out on our own'." George mimicked in a snooty voice.

"But _Charlie_ says you have to fight a dragon!" Fred added suddenly, with a thrilled smile.

"Jus' a small one." George assured her, because her eyes went wide.

"Are - are you serious?" she asked. She didn't know anything about dragons! Mum never told her it would be like this!

"You calling our brother a liar?" the twins chorused.

"No!" she nearly shouted, mortified. "I just don't think I'll be very good at fighting dragons."

"We'll help." Fred piped up.

"Thanks." she said, smiling shakily at them - she'd never had someone offer to help her fight a dragon before!

They were startled from their conversation when a floppy hat left sitting on a stool up front suddenly straightened up, and started singing.

"Blimey, no one told us about _that_!" George yelped.

"_To Hogwarts fair you've come today,_

_Dear first years of September,_

_And I've been chosen to show you,_

_A school year to remember!_

_Four houses you will find sit here_

_And they will bring their best,_

_We'll see today what you will choose_

_We'll put you to the test._

_Perhaps Gryffindor? you may ask_

_Where bravery wins the war_

_They'll show you that they're up to snuff_

_And earn their lion's roar_

_Or maybe Ravenclaw is best_

_To find your heart's true home_

_Intelligence they prize by far,_

_Solutions found in tomes._

_Hufflepuff is the one for you,_

_If you value your hard work_

_And patience always pulls you through,_

_For their toils they never shirk._

_But what of Slytherin, the house_

_Where ambition lights the way?_

_Here you'll find a determined lot_

_Who will make it worth your stay._

_So come up first years, don't be shy,_

_Come let me ply your mind_

_I'll take a look and just like that,_

_Your true house will I find!_"

"Brilliant!" Fred roared over the applause, slapping his hands together. "A talking hat that tells you where to go, wait 'til we tell Ron!"

"Or we could tell him he has to battle a troll!" George suggested, and the two smiled at each other in a way that made Maggie very uneasy for Ron.

"When I call your name," McGonagall was telling them, "You will come up to the front and have the Hat placed on your head. I will start at the top of the list...Ackheart, Morgan!"

The first of them, a very pale boy with hunched shoulders, shuffled up and sat down on the stool. He gently placed the Hat down on his head, and it drooped down over his ears. From here, Maggie could see the boy's mouth part in surprise, hands fisted in his robes, before the Sorting Hat called, in a great booming voice, "SLYTHERIN!"

With applause from the green and silver-decked table, McGonagall picked up the Hat and ushered Morgan down from the front and over to his new house.

Was that it? Maggie breathed a sigh of relief. No dragons, no tests, no pain - just a hat who told you where to go. What was she so worried about?

"Baines, Kendra!" sent dark-haired Kendra up to sit on the stool. After a bit of deliberation, the hat called out, "RAVENCLAW!" and Kendra tripped off to join the blue and bronze table.

Two more names were called - "Banner, Quentin!" also heading off to Ravenclaw and "Bingham, Ramona!" becoming the first Hufflepuff of the evening - before Maggie heard, "Callaghan, Margaret!"

"Margaret?" Fred mouthed at her with glee.

"Good luck!" George flashed her a thumbs up. Maggie smiled weakly before stumbling up to McGonagall, who ushered her to sit on the stool. Soon she felt the soft weight of the Hat on her head, and then some silence.

Then the Hat made a noise - not out loud for everyone to hear, but in her head. Maggie nearly jumped.

"Mm, yes, tricky...both father and mother in Gryffindor, eh? Oh, there's bravery here, well enough, that's tempting. But, I think your future lies elsewhere, Callaghan, better off as...RAVENCLAW!"

And just like that, it was over - Maggie realized, with a sinking heart, that she was _not_ in Gryffindor. Not like her mother. Not like her father. Professor McGonagall lifted the Sorting Hat from her head and directed her over to the Ravenclaw table, whose members gave her a round of applause (Kendra smiling widely).

"Welcome to Ravenclaw!" a big fifth-year told her. Another girl jostled her good-naturedly.

"You got the best house!"

"Thanks." Maggie smiled, eyes drifting back to the Sorting Hat.

She and Kendra were eventually joined (much to their delight) by Beth as well; "Chichester, Joshua", "Church, David", "Dalton, Fern", "Davies, Roger", "Honeyhead, Alexandra", and "Scarcliff, Adam" soon followed them as the newest Ravenclaws.

By the time they reached the end of the list everyone was hungry and shifting restlessly, and there were only two left that Maggie was anxious to see sorted.

"Weasley, Fred!" was called first, and Maggie watched the first of the stocky Weasley twins gallivant up to the Hat and sit down on the stool. Immediately the rip of a mouth opened and the Hat said sternly, "If I wanted to sort _you_, they would call _your_ name, Mr. Weasley! Your brother first, please!"

The twin - it must have been George, then, they must have switched (_again_), those sneaks! - jumped up with a laugh, a laugh that was echoed by some students up front.

"Twins, eh?" a boy beside Maggie asked his neighbour. "Looks like they'll be a laugh."

Fred was pushed up front in place of his twin, where McGonagall eyed him warningly before putting the Hat on his head.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted - and though Maggie's heart did a painful little thump of disappointment, she still clapped for her new friend as he made his way to the Gryffindor table.

George went up a few seconds later, and the Hat again did not falter in its calling of, "GRYFFINDOR!". Maggie dutifully applauded again, and with that the Sorting was over.

Halfway through dinner, Beth asked, "So who were those Weasleys you were sitting with? Friends of yours?"

"Huh? No. Met them when we got off the train." Maggie replied absently, spooning mashed potatoes onto her plate. "They helped me find my toad."

Kendra was busy piling up her plate for seconds, much to the amazement of a third year beside her.

"They have two brothers in Gryffindor, I think." Maggie added, raising her eyes to do a sweep of the Gryffindor table. Suddenly she laughed, and Beth craned her head to see. She could see the twins, joking with a few boys beside them (including a dark-skinned boy with frizzy hair), and alongside the table she could see two more boys, older, each with their own head of bright, fiery hair.

"Wot?" Beth wanted to know, and Maggie pointed them out.

"How many Sickles d'you bet, that they're related?" she asked, and Beth snorted.

"Never could tell a family by their hair before!" she exclaimed with a laugh, and the two girls returned to their meals.

Halfway through dessert ("Are you _still_ eating?" Maggie asked Kendra incredulously), they were joined by a somber looking figure, who rose up out of the bench and took a seat beside Maggie.

She was beautiful but so very pale, dark hair falling in a sheet to her waist, eyes upcast to the ceiling, lips puckered in either reminiscence or in boredom.

"Hullo." said Maggie, hesitantly. The ghost turned her head down to survey her.

"Hello." she replied in a soft voice.

"I'm Maggie." Maggie almost extended her hand but thought better of it. "Are you a - ?"

"Ghost? Yes." the lady began sliding through the table, briefly decapitated by a plate of cream puffs. "Pleased to meet you, Maggie."

"That was the Grey Lady." explained a prefect after she had left. "She's our house ghost, so to speak. Doesn't say much to anyone else, but she's quite nice to Ravenclaws, no need to worry."

Maggie thought she had looked rather sad.

After the meal, amidst the excited chatter of the Houses, Professor Dumbledore stood up - the older students immediately fell silent, the first years following suit shortly after. Staring up at her new Headmaster, Maggie felt that _this_ was the sort of person who deserved to be listened to - behind the long white beard, Albus Dumbledore's face was serene, wise, but good natured, and he had the whole of the Great Hall silent in a matter of seconds.

"I hope you have all enjoyed tonight's feast as much as I have," Dumbledore began. "For those of you who have just recently joined our Hogwarts family, my name is Albus Dumbledore, and welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," he paused for the smattering of applause that followed.

"For the rest of you, welcome back. I hope you're as excited for the new year as I am.

"A few words before I send you off to bed - our caretaker, Mr. Filch, has kindly asked me to remind you about the list of banned items located on his office door, and that he has the authority to confiscate any Dungbombs he sees. As well, Professor Snape tells me that someone left their broomstick down in the dungeons last year. If you are for some reason missing a Comet 260, please see Professor Snape in the new week."

There was a small commotion at the Hufflepuff table - a ruddy faced boy was looking resolutely into his pumpkin juice as his mates thumped him on the back.

"I wish you all a productive year at Hogwarts," Dumbledore continued, with a knowing look at the Hufflepuffs, "And I hope each and every one of you will try this year to remember what this great school was built on - the efforts of its founders, and the efforts of its students - past and present - who strive to uphold its values." Dumbledore smiled. "Goodnight, everyone."

On cue, Kendra yawned.

Sally Corner, a Ravenclaw prefect, was charged with leading the first years to their dormitory. She kept up a steady flow of chatter as they wound around the other students, and turned their trek into a guided tour of Hogwarts.

"There, where the Slytherins are headed, that's the entrance to the dungeons - you'll have Potions down there...watch these staircases, they're tricky - _Fairfax_, what did I just say?" (Beth had been trailing behind the group, mesmerized by a portrait of a medieval Quidditch game, and ended up having to take a leap in order to catch the staircase as it started moving).

"...here's where Charms is usually taught...you'll have Professor Flitwick for that, he's our Head of House you know...watch out for this portrait, sometimes its owner likes to get a little Fire-Whiskey friendly and - for heaven's sake, Friar Sam, they're first years! _Put your clothes back on_!"

Kendra and Maggie shrieked with laughter and covered their eyes as they passed the inebriated, cackling portrait, climbing the spiral staircase up the wide tower.

"I think I'm going to be sick," muttered Roger Davies, a dark haired boy not too much taller than Beth, one hand nervously pressed against the smooth stone wall as they ascended.

Sally stopped them at the top, in front of a door with a bronze knocker in the shape of an eagle - there was nothing else on the door, no knob or handle or keyhole, and they all paused in anticipation.

"Now, you'll hear from other houses about their house password, how they need a specific word to enter their dormitories. We Ravenclaws do it a little differently. Watch," Sally turned respectfully to the knocker. "We'd like to come in, please."

"What gets wet when drying?" asked the knocker. The first years jumped. Sally turned back to them with a kind smile.

"Well, what do you think?" she asked them. "You'll have to answer a riddle every time you come in. It's a little daunting at first, but you'll get used to it."

"What if we get it wrong?" asked Quentin Banner, a sandy haired boy with a bit of a lisp.

"Then you wait until someone else can get it right. That way they pass on their knowledge to you, and you learn." Sally surveyed them. "Anyone like to have a go? Fairfax, what about you?"

Beth, prodded forward by Kendra, opened and closed her mouth a few times.

"Magic ink?" asked another first year, a blonde named Alexandra Honeyhead, hopefully from the back. The eagle gave a screech, which must have meant 'no', because Sally winced and looked back at Beth again.

"Fairfax?" she asked again, giving an encouraging nod.

"I - I don't know!" Beth squealed, tangling her fingers in her robes. "I - dunno, a towel? You use it to dry yourself but IT gets wet?"

There was a heavy click from within, and the door swung opened. Sally gave a low whistle.

"Well, good job!" she congratulated. "You get the idea, everyone, right? Now, get into the common room so I can shut the door..."

With a few congratulations for Beth, the first years quickly piled into the Ravenclaw common room, and stood waiting for Sally, hushed by what they saw.

They were standing, it almost seemed, under the night sky - the ceiling above their heads in the round room was domed, and painted with stars. In the darkness outside (the blue and bronze silk drapes had not yet been drawn), Maggie could hardly tell where the ceiling ended and the window began. Bookcases stretched out along every wall, accompanied by tables and chairs that were placed across the dark blue carpet. Across the room, a white marble statue of a beautiful, regal looking woman - why did she look a little familiar? - stood by a staircase that led (Maggie assumed) to the dormitories.

"Well, no sense standing around." Sally joined them with a brisk tone. "Up to bed, all of you - girls on the left, boys on the right. You should find all your trunks up there already. If you have any questions, you can ask me or any other Ravenclaw. 'Night."

"Goodnight." they echoed obediently, before heading upstairs - Maggie paused to examine the statue by the stairs, and Sally caught her looking.

"That's Rowena Ravenclaw, one of the founders of Hogwarts." she told her proudly.

"I feel like I've seen her before..." Maggie said absently, peering up at the woman's face - it was only when Kendra told her to hurry up did she break away and follow her new friend.

She found her trunk and toad cage on a blue four-poster bed, in between Beth and Fern Dalton, a girl with a spritely face and dark hair in a short cut. After brief, awkward introductions (Fern was from Brighton; blonde Alexandra hailed from Lisburn), Maggie wanted to do nothing more than curl up in her bed and sleep.

"Classes tomorrow," Beth murmured drowsily once they had changed into their pajamas, brushing out her hair. "Excited?"

"Mm-hmm." Maggie slid under the covers. "Can't wait."

When she closed her eyes she could still see the stars on the ceiling, almost glimmering like they were real.

_So this is Hogwarts..._ was her last thought before she drifted off. _How wonderful._

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Er, yes! So, there we go!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Chapter 2!

* * *

><p>Maggie had never experienced so much constant surprise in her life until she came to Hogwarts. On her first day she and Kendra got lost in the dungeons and were scared half to death by the Bloody Baron, who emerged from a stone wall rattling his chains. On the second day Beth accidentally found a hidden passageway that someone had stashed their boxes of Stink Pellets in and nearly got caught by Argus Filch, the caretaker who was anything but nice.<p>

On their third day, Kendra had the misfortune of crossing paths with Mrs. Norris when trying to make it back to the common room for curfew - she insisted on bathing twice, in order to get any last traces of cat off of her.

On the fourth day Maggie dredged up the courage to write out a letter and drag herself to the Owlery to send it off:

"_Dear Mum and Dad,_

_Hogwarts is amazing! I am having so much fun here. I met some new friends - their names are Kendra and Beth, and they are from Liverpool. So far I really like all my classes. All my professors are nice except for Professor Snape. But I don't think he's nice to anyone._

_I hope you are not mad, but I'm not in Gryffindor. The Sorting Hat (you never told me there would be a hat, by the way!) put me in Ravenclaw. He did say that maybe I should be in Gryffindor though! It's not my fault, if I could have picked, I would have picked Gryffindor. _

_Anyways, the weather is nice here. There is not much rain yet. How are Patrick and Simon doing? Tell them I will send them a letter soon._

_Love,_

_Maggie._"

Outside of classes, she rarely had time to speak to the kids in her year from other Houses - aside from the Hufflepuffs, whom they had Potions with occasionally, she mostly spent time with the girls in her dormitory, sometimes mingling with the upper years.

They had their first Flying lesson on Wednesday, with the Hufflepuff first years - Beth woke up that morning with an extra spring in her step, while Kendra and Maggie dragged reluctantly behind.

"Let's go, let's go!" Beth urged, hefting her book bag over her shoulder as they pushed open the door to the castle and made their way out onto the Hogwarts grounds. It was a beautiful day, with blue sky and a bit of a wind. Ahead they could see a tall woman in dark robes, standing on the grass with a large bundle of brooms.

"We don't actually have to _fly_ them, right?" Kendra asked Maggie. "We're just..._learning_ about it. Right?"

"Er, I think learning how to fly involves getting _on_ the broom." Maggie replied. "Sorry to disappoint you, Kendra."

Kendra slouched all the way to the training grounds.

Maggie decided, she'd never be cut out for flying. Sure, she'd gotten on a toy broomstick as a child - she'd played with it a few times before giving it to Patrick. But this was way different than some stupid toy. The frustration of getting the broom into her hand ("Up!" she'd yelled 'til hoarse. "UP!"), that first initial mount, having Madam Hooch, the flying teacher, roughly jerk her hands into the right position, and then having to go up in the air left her feeling drained and depressed.

She was secretly pleased, however, that she wasn't the only one doing poorly. Kendra's broom had refused to jump into her hand, listlessly flopping on the ground, and when she had kicked off into the air her broom had drifted lazily to the right, hitting Roger Davies and causing the both of them to nearly fall off their brooms.

Beth, for all her enthusiasm for the sport, was corrected so many times by Madam Hooch on her technique that she was made to get on and off her broom multiple times, to make sure the lessons sank in.

"That's all for today!" Madam Hooch finally called to them, as they touched down onto the ground (well, "touched" down was a matter of opinion - out of the Ravenclaws, only Quentin Banner and David Church managed to stay on their feet; Maggie's broom let her flop awkwardly down onto her side in the grass).

"Don't be discouraged!" Madam Hooch told them as they gathered up their things. "Nothing to be ashamed of, tricky business flying...but once you get it, it never leaves you! Tomorrow Ravenclaws will have class with the Gryffindors - Hufflepuffs, you'll be with the Slytherins!"

Maggie wished she'd brought a hair tie - the wind was blowing her hair into her face and as she picked up her books from the ground a voice behind her said, "You should try holding further up the handle next time."

Maggie turned. "Pardon?" she asked, pride a little stung from the disastrous lesson. The Hufflepuff behind her, a tall boy with dark hair and and grey eyes, looked sheepish.

"Er, no offense." he corrected himself. "Just that...I know a bit about flying. And it's tricky if you're holding the broom the way you are. If you hold it further up on the handle, it's easier to steer. And such." the boy still looked embarrassed. "Sorry, didn't mean to be rude."

"No, that's fine. Thanks for the advice." Maggie pressed her books closer to her chest, a little overwhelmed by this handsome boy. "Um, I'm Maggie, by the way. Maggie Callaghan."

"Cedric Diggory." he smiled. "Nice to meet you! Our Houses have Potions together, don't they? What'd you think about Professor Snape's lesson yesterday?"

Maggie scrunched her face up. "I already feel like a dunce in Flying," she declared, walking with Cedric back to the castle. "I don't need to feel like a dunce in another class, too!"

Cedric laughed. "Flying's a little different." he said. "You heard Madam Hooch - it's tricky for everyone."

Maggie eyed him. "Not for you!" she pointed out a little bitterly. "I saw you - no trouble at all! Must be nice!"

"I was lucky." Cedric said modestly - someone called his name down the hallway and he turned towards the sound. "Well, I've got class. See you around, Callaghan."

"Yeah...bye..." Maggie raised a belated hand goodbye at Cedric's retreating back.

The next day, in Flying class with the Gryffindors, Maggie got on her broom, hesitated, and placed her hands further up the handle.

"Good grip, Callaghan!" Hooch praised. "Good start."

Despite herself, Maggie smiled.

There was a commotion when they had all kicked off, when the Weasley twins started doing loop the loops in midair.

"Weasleys!" Madam Hooch sent them a sharp look out of the corner of her eye. "I do not appreciate _show offs_ in my class!"

Maggie laughed despite herself, as did most of the other students - she was in a better mood, in more control over her broom than yesterday. Fred righted himself and grinned at her.

"All right, Callaghan?"

"Fine, Weasley." Maggie shot back. "Flown before?"

Fred shrugged. "Took our brother's brooms out when we were younger. As long as our mum - or our brothers! - didn't catch us, we were fine."

"Lucky." Maggie laughed, dissolving into a little yelp as her broom listed to the right. "I don't think I'm getting the hang of this."

"These brooms are rubbish, anyways." George told her from Fred's other side. "If you can fly on these, you can fly on anything."

"I think this'll be the last flying I do," Maggie grimaced, with a little jealousy, as the twins made an easy turn in the air so they were facing her. "Not really fancying joining the Quidditch team."

"You never know when you'll need a broom." Fred told her wisely.

"Chin up, Callaghan." George added. "No need to be so down on yourself."

"Who said I'm being - " Maggie started indignantly, but the twins had already flown off, spinning around fellow classmate Lee Jordan in erratic circles until Madam Hooch, at the end of her rope, told everyone to "_GET BACK ON THE GROUND_".

"You two," Madam Hooch pointed at the twins, and Maggie was half-expecting a lecture; instead she continued, "I certainly hope you two are trying out for the Quidditch team next year?"

At their sheepish nods, the flying teacher snapped, "Don't be letting that go to your heads then! Save your goofing off for next year, in tryouts! _Not_ in my class!"

"Yes ma'am." Fred replied, and with a reluctant smile, Hooch waved them off.

"All right, all right, have a good weekend, everyone. Tuesday we'll resume lessons."

Kendra groaned.

"I wanna try out for Quidditch too!" Beth fell into step with the Weasley twins as they put their brooms away. "Stupid that they don't let first years try out, huh?"

"I think it's a good thing," Maggie defended, walking beside her friend. "Half of us can't even fly in a straight line, and tryouts are next week. Can you imagine Chichester trying out for a Keeper or something?"

Joshua Chichester, a kind but very clumsy boy in their House, had been distinguished as the first of the first years to fall off their brooms when he wasn't more than an inch from the ground - in fact, he'd sat the last part of the lesson out, having given himself a black eye on the handle of his own broom.

Beth winced. "S'pose not...mind, Chichester probably wouldn't _want_ to try out for Quidditch, now would he?"

Maggie sighed. "You've got seven years of school and you're complaining about not trying out the first year?" she asked. "You're something else, Fairfax."

Beth jostled her good-naturedly. "And what about you? Get flying lessons from a Hufflepuff and now you're flying like a pro!"

Maggie flushed, opened her mouth to protest - George laughed. "A Hufflepuff teaching a Ravenclaw? Fostering inter-House unity early on, Callaghan?"

"He was very nice!" Maggie protested.

"That's what they all say." Fred said ominously. Rolling her eyes, Maggie swatted at him with her book bag.

"Well, I wouldn't want you being accused of inter-House unity, Weasleys." she declared. "'Sides, we've got Defense Against the Dark Arts, Beth, c'mon..."

"See you!" Beth called to the twins. "They're nice, aren't they? Funny blokes, too."

"Yeah, they definitely are..." Maggie said absently - Cedric Diggory had just passed by, with a smile and a wave, and Maggie was suddenly self-conscious of her hair, whipped into a frenzy by the Flying lessons.

"D'you think I need a haircut?" she asked Beth suddenly, who frowned.

"Wot?"

* * *

><p>Maggie didn't see the Weasley twins again until the second week when, having doubled back to the common room on the way back from lunch in order to grab her History of Magic textbook, she noticed two red-headed boys huddled in a hallway off from the main entrance.<p>

"How come every time I see you," she asked the Weasley twins, hands on her hips, "You seem to be causing trouble?"

"What, us?" Fred Weasley asked, turning from what he and his brother were holding.

"Never." George Weasley added.

"You've got us all wrong, _Margaret_."

"Don't call me that." Maggie warned Fred. "I go by Maggie, thank you very much. What are you doing?"

George and Fred eyed her. "Here, can you keep a secret?" they asked.

Maggie bristled. "'Course."

Fred motioned for her to step closer. The boys each slung one arm round her shoulder and pulled her into their little huddle. They were standing, she realized, in front of the Caretaker's office - she was practically nose-to-nose with the list of "banned items", written on old parchment with progressively newer and newer writing as the additions added up over the years.

"See, we figure, we came all the way to Hogwarts with these," Fred showed her a handful of Dungbombs, "And we get here and Filch says we can't use 'em!"

"So, being that we _always_ listen to rules," George continued with an angelic expression, "We decided we'd save him the trouble of confiscating them..."

"...and deliver them ourselves!" Fred finished. "All we were hoping for, really, was for someone to be our lookout while we leave Filch a...er...present."

"What, he's not in?" Maggie took another glance at the caretaker's door. "Blimey, you two, you've been here only a week..."

The two looked hopefully at her. She rolled her eyes. "You've got five minutes, then I'm leaving," she warned. "I've got History of Magic right after lunch, you know."

"Got it!" Fred gave a mock salute, and George slowly pushed open the door.

"Let us know if you hear anyone coming."

Then the door shut with a soft 'click' and Maggie was left standing there, nervously, leaning against the stone wall by the office door, hands tucked behind her back. They were right by the Grand Entrance, and the continual murmur of voices and snatches of conversations as students passed by were making her extremely jumpy - who knew when a voice would get close before she could realize?

And what was she thinking, she suddenly wondered with a start. She barely even knew these boys, and she was risking detention while they put _Dungbombs_ in Filch's office!

"Ohhhh, no..." she muttered nervously to herself, craning her neck to check up and down the hallway.

There was a noise below her feet. Looking down, Maggie caught sight of Mrs. Norris, Filch's beloved cat. She had slunk around the corner without Maggie noticing, and was staring up at her with bulging yellow eyes.

"Sssh. Cat, go away!" Maggie flicked her wrist at it. Mrs. Norris gave her the most condescending, disdainful stare she'd ever imagined a cat to muster, turned, and sauntered away towards the Great Hall.

"Hurry up." Maggie chanted, raising her eyes to the ceiling. How long did it take to put Dungbombs down and _leave_?

"You there!" Maggie jumped out of her skin. Just like his pet, Argus Filch had appeared out of nowhere, squinting at her suspiciously, carrying Mrs. Norris in his arms - the cat looked very smug (for her being a cat), and Maggie eyed her with distaste.

"What are you doing loitering about?" Filch asked her.

"Er...well..." Maggie willed herself not to look at the office door. "I was...wanting to ask you a question, is all! Mr. Filch." she tacked on at the end.

Filch looked surprised - though, Maggie supposed he didn't get many students down here, wanting to ask him questions.

"About what?"

From within the office, Maggie heard the click of the door handle, and in a fit of panicky inspiration rushed over to the door, wrapping her hand around the handle and pulling it towards her while exclaiming loudly, "The list! I wanted to ask a question about the list, Mr. Filch!"

"What's there to ask?" Filch snapped.

"It's just - I'm confused about some things that might be considered _similar_ to the things on this list." Maggie babbled. "Bulbadox powder, for example! So when you have Bulbadox powder on the list, should I assume that all powders used to change a person's appearance should be banned? Or just the Bulbadox? Because my brothers, they really like this new product from Diagon Alley - it makes your voice go all funny, just temporarily, mind. So I wanted to know, if they send it to me for a laugh, would I get in trouble?"

Filch gave her a long, hard stare. "I don't know what you're up to, missy." he said with a nasty scowl, wagging a bony finger at her. "But I don't take kindly to being mocked!"

"Alright, listen," Maggie blurted out desperately. "I'm really here because I think I saw someone...hiding Stink Pellets on the third floor."

At this, Filch looked slightly interested. "And do you remember exactly where?" he asked

"I - I can show you!" Maggie said, backing away from the door and hoping Filch would follow. "Come with me - I think I can find my way back..."

Filch, eyes still narrowed, took a step forward, and Maggie's hopes soared. "There were a _lot_, Mr. Filch!" she egged him on. "Can you help me?"

With a belabored sigh of, "Brats these days!", Mr. Filch reluctantly put down Mrs. Norris, and the two of them followed Maggie towards the staircase.

Maggie hastened up the stairs, eager to get away from the office. When she reached the third floor, she realized she really had no idea _where_ Beth said the secret passageway was located.

"Well?" Filch huffed, impatiently, hobbling up the last few stairs.

Maggie did a quick spin, taking in the empty hallway, before saying, "I guess I must have forgotten where it was! Awfully sorry to have wasted your time - oh! That's the end of lunch!" below them, the bell chimed, and doors to the Great Hall opened to emit a flood of students. "I have to go or I'll be late for class - "

Filch grabbed her by the sleeve of her robe, looking rather murderous. "You little first-years think you can run around and make fun of old Filch, eh?" he spat at her. "Well, mark me, I'll be keeping my eye on _you_, miss! Watch your step, you hear?"

"Nice talking to you!" Maggie said breathlessly, pushing past Filch towards the staircase, and made her way down to classroom 4F - she had never been so glad to sit down in History of Magic and listen to one of Professor Binns' lectures.

"Where were you?" Kendra hissed at her as she took her seat.

"Long story." Maggie whispered back miserably, taking out her quill.

It was one thing to have Filch dislike you on principle - he didn't like _any_ student in the school, that was a fact. But to have Filch specifically single you out for proper dislike, in your first year even!...Maggie was pretty sure she was setting off on the wrong foot at Hogwarts, and it wasn't even October!

* * *

><p>"And then what if one day I accidentally do something wrong?" Maggie was saying to Beth as they sat in the Ravenclaw common room after supper - Beth and Fern were playing Exploding Snap, while Maggie sat on the sofa beside Fern, her Transfiguration textbook open on her lap in an attempt to study; Kendra had stopped studying ages ago and was writing a letter home.<p>

"And then Filch'll remember me as that stupid first-year who led him around on a wild goose chase! And he'll have a grudge against me, and maybe he'll be extra nasty just because..."

"What were you even doing down there anyways?" Kendra wanted to know. "You were ages, I thought you'd gone back to get your textbook?"

"I did...I mean, I had...I just got a little turned around. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time!" Maggie explained, and she supposed it was the truth. She never should have asked those Weasley twins what they were doing down there! She hadn't even seen them again after she led Filch away - though, judging from the stink that was coming from Filch's hallway when they came down for supper, and the ugly look that had taken up residence on the caretaker's face, she felt like she could safely assume that they had gotten away...lucky blokes.

Her train of thought was broken when a fifth year hesitantly paused at the entrance to the common room and called, "Maggie?"

All four girls turned.

"That's me." Maggie raised her hand briefly. The older girl raised her eyebrows.

"There're two Gryffindors outside, they wanted to speak to you."

"Oh." exchanging confused looks with her friends, Maggie stood, closing her textbook. "Er...thanks."

The fifth year shrugged and continued up the stairs to the dorms.

"You want me to come with you?" Beth suggested instantly, but Maggie shook her head.

"I'll just be a moment."

When she stepped out of the common room, she was greeted with the sight of two sheepish looking red-heads. Maggie scowled.

"You two!"

"Long time, no see." Fred laughed, lifting his hand in greeting.

"Why'd you take so long earlier?" Maggie demanded in a whispered hiss. "Filch showed up, I had to lead him away from his office!"

"Yeah, we heard that." George admitted. "That was real nice of you, you know. You didn't have to do that."

" 'f course I did!" Maggie exclaimed, furrowing her brow. "What, was I going to let him catch you in his office? You could've gotten in big trouble!"

The twins grinned. "Yer alright, Callaghan." Fred extended his hand, and after a moment (deliberating whether she should still be mad or not), Maggie shook it.

"We wanted to show you something." George shook her hand too, and motioned for her to follow them.

Maggie chanced a glance around, nervously.

"It's almost curfew." she pointed out. Fred rolled his eyes at her.

"It'll only take a second," he insisted, and after a bit of thought Maggie reluctantly followed them, down the spiral staircase and into a little alcove on the fourth floor, where George opened up his school bag that had been slung over his shoulder.

"The reason we took so long," he explained in a hushed voice as the three of them huddled out of sight, "Was we found something."

"What?" Maggie wanted to know.

"Ol' Filch keeps all these cabinets," Fred interjected, "Of all these things that've happened at Hogwarts, all the nasty stuff he's taken from students. And there was a cabinet labeled 'Confiscated and Highly Dangerous'..."

"You didn't." Maggie gasped.

"We did." the twins chorused.

"With a name like that, how could we not?" George continued with a grin. "So we just _had_ to take a peek inside."

"What did'ja find?" Maggie leaned in closer as George put a hand into the bag.

"All sorts of stuff," he grinned conspiratorially. "But we could only manage to knick a few things before we heard you at the door...thanks again, by the way. We'd have been caught red-handed if it wasn't for you."

"So we thought, we'd offer something we found, to you!" Fred finished proudly. "Least we could do, you see."

"Oh no, you don't have to..." George had pulled open his bag before Maggie could finish, and she could see inside a whole curious assortment of things - among them, a blank piece of parchment.

"All those dangerous objects and you knicked a spare bit of writing paper?" she teased. Fred shrugged, a little embarrassed.

"Well, we didn't really have time to pick and choose, now did we?" he asked. "Besides, if it was in that drawer, it _must_ be something right? C'mon, what d'you want?"

Maggie peered into the bag, moral resolve weakened by the thrill of taking something filched...from Filch!

At the bottom of the bag something glimmered - Maggie reached in and picked out a ring, nothing big or fancy, just a band of silver studded with four, tiny, dark-blue stones.

Fred and George exchanged glances as she looked it over. "Girls." they exclaimed with a shake of their heads.

"A whole mess of brilliant things in there and she goes for the jewl'ry!" Fred complained. Maggie frowned.

"Well, better than your spare parchment, I figure!" she retorted, experimentally slipping the ring on. It was too big for her ring finger, but fit nicely on the index.

"I shouldn't..." she said doubtfully. "It's not mine..."

"Not Filch's, either." George pointed out. "_We're_ certainly not going to want _that_. Think of it as a thank you."

"A 'sorry for getting you involved'." added his brother.

Flushing, Maggie examined the ring, and then looked up at the brothers. "Thank you." she said sincerely. "This is very nice of you. But," she frowned, and felt pleased when the twins looked a little nervous, "If you're going to do things like that again, you're going to need to think them through! No sense getting into trouble this early in the year!"

"Blimey," Fred muttered to his brother, "I thought we went to school to get _away_ from Mum."

George repressed a shudder.

Sitting in an alcove with the Weasley twins, in her jeans and sweater, a filched ring on her finger, under a statue of a regal Edwardian prince with the head of a frog, Maggie felt a grin split her face.

"Least, let me know in advance next time, if you're going to be needing me for something like that." she declared. "Much easier to think up excuses that way!"

Fred looked a little impressed. "We'll keep that in mind." he promised. George did up his book bag.

"Well, no sense keeping you!" he said with a smile. "Thanks again!"

As the twins set off down the hallway, Maggie waved goodbye. "See you around." she said cheerfully. "And stay out of trouble."

"Right!" she heard their disbelieving laughter echo in the relatively quiet castle, and Maggie turned to go back up to Ravenclaw Tower with a little smile on her face.

Beth and Kendra had gone up to the dormitory when she came back, but Fern was still up.

"What'd they want?" she asked as Maggie picked up her Transfiguration textbook from the sofa.

"To say thank you." Maggie replied, and headed up to bed before Fern could ask any more questions.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Thanks for reading!


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